Outerwear with nose wipe accessory

ABSTRACT

A nose wipe accessory for outerwear, which allows a user thereof to attend to a runny nose while wearing gloves in an environment in which the person&#39;s movement is restricted. The nose wipe accessory includes an outer flap fixed along one edge thereof to the sleeve of an outerwear garment, the remaining edges of the outer flap removably attached to the sleeve of the garment, such that the flap may be readily opened to allow access to a disposable nose wipe insert releasably retained on the sleeve. A lotion insert may be disposed between the nose wipe insert and the sleeve to allow a user to apply a soothing lotion emitted therefrom to the user&#39;s nose. Alternatively, the nose wipe accessory may be attached to an armband worn on a sleeve, or may be attached to a sleeve with straps, allowing the user to wear the nose wipe accessory interchangeably with multiple outerwear garments.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to outerwear such as coats andjackets, for example, of the type which are worn by a person whenengaging in outdoor work or recreational activity in a cold environment.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Engaging in outdoor work or recreational activity, such asskiing, in a cold environment often causes people to experience a runnynose. A problem is that when wearing existing outerwear and gloves, itis inconvenient and difficult for a person to attend to a runny nosewith the use of a tissue or handkerchief. For example, attending to arunny nose typically requires a person to take off his or her gloves inorder to remove a tissue or handkerchief from a pocket, becauseaccessing the pocket and manipulating the tissue or handkerchief cannotbe readily performed while wearing gloves. After attending to theirrunny nose, the person discards the used tissue or handkerchief orplaces same back into the pocket, and may then may put the gloves backon and continue with the person's activities.

[0005] This process is even more inconvenient when the individual'smovement is restricted, such that the person cannot easily perform theaforementioned steps, for example, as when riding on a chair lift up aski slope or performing certain restrictive outdoor work activity suchas construction. Additionally, the need for the person to remove theirgloves in the cold environment is in itself undesirable, as such resultsin the person's hands becoming exposed to the cold.

[0006] What is needed is a device that alleviates the aforementioneddifficulties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The present invention provides a nose wipe accessory forouterwear, which allows a user thereof to attend to a runny nose whilewearing gloves in an environment in which the person's movement isrestricted. The nose wipe accessory includes an outer flap fixed alongone edge thereof to the sleeve of an outerwear garment, the remainingedges of the outer flap removably attached to the sleeve of the garment,such that the flap may be readily opened to allow access to a disposablenose wipe insert releasably retained on the sleeve.

[0008] The outer flap may easily be grasped and opened by a user whilewearing gloves to reveal the nose wipe insert, allowing the user to wipethe user's nose on the insert, and then re-attach the outer flap. Theouter flap and the nose wipe insert may each be releasably attached tothe sleeve of the garment using hook and loop fasteners. The nose wipeinsert may comprise a piece of soft fabric, which may be disposed ofafter sufficient use.

[0009] Further, the nose wipe accessory, as described above, may beattached to an armband which may be worn on the sleeve of an outerweargarment, allowing the user to wear the nose wipe accessoryinterchangeably with multiple outerwear garments.

[0010] Additionally, a lotion insert which emits a soothing lotion maybe disposed between the nose wipe insert and the sleeve of the garment,such that the user may partially remove the nose wipe insert to revealthe lotion insert, and apply soothing lotion to the person's nosetherefrom to avoid nose chaffing.

[0011] In one form thereof, an article of outerwear is provided,including a sleeve, and a nose wipe accessory attached to the sleeve,the nose wipe accessory including a piece of fabric removably attachedto the sleeve; and a flap having an outer periphery, the flap disposedover the piece of fabric and fixedly attached to the sleeve along afirst portion of the outer periphery and removably attached to thesleeve along a second portion of the outer periphery, wherein the flapmay be opened to expose the piece of fabric.

[0012] In another form thereof, a nose wipe accessory is provided,including an armband; a piece of fabric removably attached to thearmband; and a flap having an outer periphery, the flap fixedly attachedto the armband along a first portion of the periphery and removablyattached to the sleeve along a second portion of the outer periphery,wherein the flap may be opened to expose the piece of fabric.

[0013] Advantageously, the nose wipe accessory allows a user to quicklyand easily attend to a runny nose while wearing gloves in an environmentin which the user's movement is restricted, by the simple operation ofopening the outer flap, wiping the user's nose on the nose wipe insert,and closing the outer flap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of thisinvention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparentand the invention itself will be better understood by reference to thefollowing description of embodiments of the invention taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0015]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary outerwear garmenthaving a nose wipe accessory thereon in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention;

[0016]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the nose wipe accessory of FIG. 1,showing the outer flap opened, and the nose wipe insert partiallyremoved to reveal the lotion insert therebeneath;

[0017]FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the nose wipe accessory of FIGS. 2and 4, showing the outer flap partially opened; and

[0018]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an armband including a nose wipeaccessory in accordance with a second embodiment of the presentinvention, showing the outer flap partially opened.

[0019] Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views. The exemplifications set out hereinillustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, and suchexemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of theinvention in any manner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Referring to FIG. 1, outerwear garment 10 is shown, includingsleeves 12. To one sleeve 12 is attached nose wipe accessory 14.Outerwear garment 10 is shown in FIG. 1 as a coat or jacket, however, itshould be understood that nose wipe accessory 14 may be attached to anytype of outerwear garment.

[0021] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, nose wipe accessory 14 generallyincludes outer flap 16, nose wipe insert 18, and lotion insert 20. Outerflap 16 may be made of nylon, for example, and may be made of the samematerial as sleeve 12 for aesthetic purposes. Outer flap 16 is sewnalong first edge 24 thereof to sleeve 12 of garment 10, and hook andloop fastener strips 26 a are attached around the periphery of innersurface 28 of outer flap 16. Hook and loop fastener strips 26 a-c may beVelcro® strips, for example. (Velcro® is a registered trademark ofVelcro Industries BV LLC). Hook and loop fastener strips 26 a on innersurface 28 of outer flap 16 releasably engage nose wipe insert 18 and/orcooperating hook and loop fastener strips 26 b attached to sleeve 12 ofgarment 10 around an area thereof which corresponds to the periphery ofouter flap 16. Although outer flap 16 may be grasped and opened by auser while wearing gloves, outer flap 16 may also include loop 38 forgrasping to ease the opening outer flap 16, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0022] Nose wipe insert 18 comprises a piece of soft fabric such ascotton or fleece, for example. One suitable fabric for nose wipe insert18 is Turtle Fur®. (Turtle Fur® is a registered trademark of Brystie,Inc.). Nose wipe insert 18 includes hook and loop fastener strips 26 cdisposed about the periphery of inner surface 28 thereof. Hook and loopfastener strips 26 c on inner surface 30 of nose wipe insert 18releaseably engage hook and loop fastener strips 26 b attached to sleeve12 to define lotion insert pocket 32 between nose wipe insert 18 andsleeve 12. Disposed within lotion insert pocket 32 intermediate nosewipe insert 18 and sleeve 12 is lotion insert 20. Lotion insert 20comprises a plastic walled packet containing a soothing lotion therein,the lotion emitted from lotion insert 20 through a plurality of holes34.

[0023] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, an alternate embodiment of nose wipeaccessory 14 is shown, including armband 22 made of a flexible materialsuch as neoprene, having open ends 36 a, 36 b, allowing armband 22 to beslid over and worn on sleeve 12 of outerwear garment 10. A user mayinterchangeably wear armband 22 on the sleeve of multiple outerweargarments. Armband 22 includes outer flap 16 sewn thereto along firstedge 24 of outer flap 16 and hook and loop fastener strips 26 a disposedaround the periphery of inner surface 28 of outer flap 16, whichreleaseably engage nose wipe insert 18 and/or complementary hook andloop fasteners 26 b attached to armband 22, as described above. Nosewipe insert 18 may be attached to armband 22 in the same manner asdescribed above for the attachment of nose wipe insert 18 to sleeve 12.Additionally, as shown in FIG. 3, lotion insert 20 may be disposed inlotion insert pocket 32 intermediate nose wipe insert 18 and armband 22.

[0024] Alternatively, another embodiment of nose wipe accessory 14 maybe in the form of a piece of base fabric (not shown) to which hook andloop fasteners 26 b, outer flap 16, and nose wipe insert 18 are attachedas described above, the piece of base fabric including straps forattachment of nose wipe accessory 14 to sleeve 12 of outerwear garment10. The straps may be continuous elastic straps, for example, or may bestrips of a suitable material including fasteners such as buckles orhook and loop fasteners.

[0025] In use, a user wearing outerwear garment 10 with nose wipeaccessory 14, or an outerwear garment 10 having armband 22 with nosewipe accessory 14 thereon, first grasps outer flap 16 and opens outerflap 16 to reveal nose wipe insert 18 therebeneath. Outer flap 16 mayeasily be grasped by a user while wearing gloves. The user may then wipethe user's nose on nose wipe insert 18, and thereafter cover nose wipeinsert 18 by reattaching outer flap 16 to sleeve 12 or armband 22.Similar to the opening of outer flap 16, outer flap 16 may also beeasily re-attached to armband 22 or sleeve 12 by the user while wearinggloves. Optionally, the user, after wiping the user's nose on nose wipeinsert 18, may grasp nose wipe insert 18 and partially remove same toreveal lotion insert 20 therebeneath. The user may then wipe the user'snose on lotion insert 20 to apply a soothing lotion emitted from nosewipe insert 18 to the user's nose to aid in prevention nose chaffing,followed by reattaching nose wipe insert 18 to a respective one ofsleeve 12 or armband 22. Nose wipe insert 18, similar to outer flap 16,may easily be opened and reattached by the user while wearing gloves.

[0026] Nose wipe insert 18, when soiled, may be discarded and replacedwith a new nose wipe insert. Alternatively, depending upon the type offabric of which nose wipe insert 18 is made, nose wipe insert 18 may becleaned and used repeatedly. Similarly, lotion insert 20, after all ofthe soothing lotion therein has been used, may be discarded and replacedby a new lotion insert.

[0027] While this invention has been described as having a preferreddesign, the present invention can be further modified within the spiritand scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended tocover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using itsgeneral principles. Further, this application is intended to cover suchdepartures from the present disclosure as come within known or customarypractice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fallwithin the limits of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An article of outerwear, comprising: a sleeve;and a nose wipe accessory attached to said sleeve, said nose wipeaccessory comprising: a piece of fabric removably attached to saidsleeve; and a flap having an outer periphery, said flap disposed oversaid piece of fabric and fixedly attached to said sleeve along a firstportion of said outer periphery and removably attached to said sleevealong a second portion of said outer periphery, wherein said flap may beopened to expose said piece of fabric.
 2. The article of outerwear ofclaim 1, further comprising: at least one first hook and loop fastenerstrip fixed to said sleeve; and at least one second hook and loopfastener strip attached to each of said piece of fabric and said flap,said at least one first hook and loop fastener strip releaseablyengaging each of said at least one second hook and loop fastener strips.3. The article of outerwear of claim 1, further comprising a lotioninsert disposed intermediate said piece of fabric and said sleeve.
 4. Anose wipe accessory, comprising: an armband; a piece of fabric removablyattached to said armband; and a flap having an outer periphery, saidflap fixedly attached to said armband along a first portion of saidperiphery and removably attached to said sleeve along a second portionof said outer periphery, wherein said flap may be opened to expose saidpiece of fabric.
 5. The nose wipe accessory of claim 4, furthercomprising a lotion insert disposed intermediate said piece of fabricand said armband.
 6. The nose wipe accessory of claim 4, furthercomprising: first hook and loop fastener strips fixed respectivelyaround an outer periphery of said piece of fabric and said outerperiphery of said flap, and a second hook and loop fastener strip fixedto said armband around an area thereof, said area corresponding to saidouter peripheries of each of said piece of fabric and said cover, saidsecond hook and loop fastener strip releaseably engaging each of saidfirst hook and loop fastener strips.